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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558461">Hunter or hunted?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmnomKimchiMirae/pseuds/OmnomKimchiMirae'>OmnomKimchiMirae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Angels &amp; Demons, Alternate Universe - Demons, Bottom Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Defensive Dream, Dream is a Brat, Friends to Lovers, George is a demon, Hunters &amp; Hunting, Light BDSM, Light Sadism, M/M, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sapnap is a demon, Teasing, Threesome - M/M/M, Top GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Top Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:55:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558461</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmnomKimchiMirae/pseuds/OmnomKimchiMirae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Play some tag with us, Dream!” The raven exclaimed on him, George snickering before following up on the demand. “We’re bored,” he hummed, snorting when Dream didn’t respond and just looked at him, dumbfounded. “Please?” the brunette continued, stretching the word into a near- whine and taking in the sight of the usually taller man now smaller than the two of them. Fingers flexed by Dream’s sides as he tried to slowly pull his head out of the strange headspace he was in, glancing to the side under his mask while he was seemingly unbothered by his demonic friends. The blonde refused to seem weak now, even less embarrassed. </p><p>Dream has lived with George and Sapnap for quite some time, relatively peacefully considering their demonic heritages. The three had been like three peas in a pod, and there had never been anything more than friendship between them before a certain night whereas Dream finds himself falling, very, very hard for the pair, and things only going downhill from there.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; GeorgeNotFound &amp; Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream &amp; GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream &amp; Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>457</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hunter or hunted?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Although this is a fic only using content creators' personas, I'd still like to say that the people who has stated they are uncomfortable with fanfiction will not be included. Dream, George and Sapnap are all real people, and this fic is purely fiction and written for fun. </p><p>I hope you find the story enjoyable! Onto the story~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dream never really cared for demons. He knew that some were reckless, cruel and brutal, whilst some were elegant, wise and seductive- no matter how they were or who they threatened, he had just ignored them. That’s before Sapnap and George had crash-landed into his life and sent him tumbling down the road to the demonic life, however.</p><p>Currently, the two demons were sprawled across the couch in the most inconsiderate manner, forcing Dream to sit on the cabinet for what seemed like the remainder of the evening. The unfair treatment had been challenged multiple times, but the blonde always found himself losing the argument, ending in his current sour mood. He really felt like he should’ve been used to it by then, considering the way it was just in their nature to be asshats, but oh what he wouldn’t do to chuck each of them out of a window once in a while. Scoffing, the man just sat on the wooden plate to stew in anger by himself.</p><p>From the couch, George made a funny sound at the back of his throat as he gave Dream a glance for the nth time today, snickering at the other as he met his eyes before turning away with a displeased grunt. The brunette pushed his hair back behind his black horns before he opened his mouth to talk with a mocking voice. “Oh, come on Dream, it’s not that bad.”</p><p>When he received a glare from the other, George just rolled his eyes and continued, opening and closing his clawed hand as he continued. “This is what you get for not letting us out in a week.”</p><p>“It’s your punishment for killing the mayor’s horse,” Dream bit back, arms crossed as he leaned forward. Albeit his face was hidden behind his smiling mask, the expression he wore was clear to the demon: he was very, very annoyed. “Well, we don’t agree with your ‘punishment’, and that’s why we’re excluding you from the couch,” George said apathetically, golden eyes contrasting the black and blue cape he had wrapped around himself.</p><p>Tuning into the conversation, Sapnap rolled his shoulders before facing the other two. He was wearing a white tunic and black slacks akin to George’s, and the strips of light cloth loosely hanging from around his head were squeezed between his back and the couch as he sat up. “Keeping us inside is stupid, Dream, we’ll just get more reckless and end up burning the place later if we don’t get something fun to do,” he said, head tipping to let raven bangs fall in front of his orange eyes, “so let us out.” Dream shook his foot out of frustration, groaning. “Stop being such whiny bitches, give me a spot on the couch and <em>then</em> we can talk.”</p><p>The blonde just watched as the other two started to snicker among themselves, immediately losing all chances at reducing their makeshift sentence. Here they were, needing someone to essentially watch over them as if they were children and creating so much trouble for Dream that he sometimes contemplated throwing them back out on the streets.</p><p>He sighed.</p><p>That wasn’t something he’d ever manage to do. The only reason they were able to live amongst human society was because he had taken them under his wing, and the moment they’d be out on the streets, they’d be executed. Because Dream was an infamous fighter and he had mastered the axe for so long, he had become an almost essential part of the village’s armed forces, which both him and the citizens knew. The only way he had rescued the demons from all the trouble they had caused previously was by threatening to leave society if they didn’t let the two miscreants off the hook. Dream shook his head, not liking the thought of it.</p><p>Although they probably couldn’t see it, he studied them as they kept laughing about him, much to the hunter’s indignation. Emerald eyes squinted. Albeit he wasn’t planning to go back on his word to keep them locked up for a few more days, they were gradually growing a lot more agitated than normal. It was the first time Dream had grounded them for a longer period of time, and judging by the reactions he got, his buddies weren’t too pleased with it.</p><p>“Too bad,” Dream muttered- serves them right for whining his poor braincells out.</p><p>Two sets of dimly glowing orbs snapped to follow Dream as he pushed himself off the cabinet and made his way towards them, both having an ever- present twinkle of mischief in their eyes. He considered stopping in front of his friends, briefly mulling over whether or not to just elbow-dive between the two and disturb them before deciding to head over to his bedroom instead. Dream was just about to pass George and Sapnap, scoffing as he turned to leave just to find himself being yanked backwards.</p><p>Sapnap, that motherfucker, had grabbed onto Dream’s hood and tugged it to reveal messy, blond hair, leaving its owner choking for air. Spinning around with the raven still not letting go off his cloak, Dream gave him a proper death-glare through the mask. Being faced with two grinning demons was certainly not comfortable, but he refused to give in to their desperate ways of getting entertainment. He grabbed Sapnaps wrist, feeling how the blackened skin was nearly slippery to the touch. His hand managed to completely envelop the demon’s wrist but was quickly countered by a much larger, beastly hand around his own.</p><p>“Dude! Let me go,” Dream exclaimed, pulling at his arm to let the other go. Instead, Sapnap pulled the hunters hand off his wrist whilst keeping his own on the other, effectively keeping Dream hostage with a smug look on his face. From behind him, Dream could hear George laughing, figuring that it was probably because of the odd pose he was in. He tried to break free again, groaning when the other just let go off his hood.</p><p>“You can’t escape us, Dream~” Sapnap cooed, and Dream found his adrenaline spiking for a second taking in the tone of his voice. “You’re like a small mouse trying to escape.” The blonde sighed, quickly retorting to the belittling string of words. “And you’re being an idiot,” he said, attacking right back rather than defending himself. From the corner of his eye, Dream saw George pushing his glasses down, eyeing him patronizingly. “I can see you, George. Don’t even try anything.”</p><p>The sudden shiver that ran down his spine as the brunette started playing with his hair was embarrassing as all hell, even if the other two didn’t notice it. Dream had expected a smack on the neck or something of the like, not a weirdly affectionate gesture from his friend, and it made him briefly stop his train of thought. Not finding any words, he turned to meet Sapnap’s eyes just as the hand around his wrist tightened painfully. Dream barely managed to quench a pained noise, moving to tower over the raven-haired man in an attempt of intimidation.</p><p>“Oh, scary~” was the response before the demon was suddenly all up on his face, hand on his shoulder and nearly pushing Dream to the point of losing his balance. The hand in his hair stopped, and the hunter held his breath as the three of them stood in silence for some time. Sapnap’s eyes were so, so bright, and so close, and George was practically breathing down his neck- Dream swore that the warm feeling from the hands on him was making his heart skip a beat and creating the flash of coarse thoughts he suddenly got. <em>‘What the fuck?’</em></p><p>Out of the blue, his friends burst out laughing. The hand in his hair disappeared and the iron grip around his wrist was loosened, George and Sapnap letting Dream go and trembling by the sheer amount of laughter that was erupting from them. “Dream, your face-“ George wheezed, curling into himself with his hands on his legs as Sapnap was audibly smacking his thighs. The two of them looked ridiculous as they kept laughing, and Dream-</p><p>Dream was burning up, only seeming composed thanks to the marbled mask shielding his face, now his only salvation. He managed to croak out a barely passable sigh of relinquish in the hope that he still had his pride intact. “You guys are assholes.”</p><p>They continued laughing, apparently without end, and the hunter struggled to calm himself down. Whatever he just thought of as his friends had kept him captive, and the thrilled, ticklish feeling that blossomed in his chest: they were memories to be ignored from then on, Dream decided. Shaking his head, he turned and headed into his bedroom when George called behind him. “Goodnight, Dreamy~” The pet name made him pause before he waved off-handedly and closed the door after him, hand shaking ever so slightly on the doorknob.</p><p>George silenced himself, glancing to the side to meet Sapnap’s eyes. The brunette took his glasses off with a sly smirk as him and the raven shared a look them in between, getting the gist that the other was thinking the same thing as him.</p><p>The blush that had crept up the hunter’s neck had not gone unnoticed.</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s Sap?” Dream asked, entering the small cabin while carrying a rather heavy bag in his arms. The question had been directed at George, who’d just come out from behind the dinner table after doing god knows what. The brunette walked over to Dream, shrugging his shoulders as he took the bag from his friend, following up on the gesture. “Not sure. I haven’t seen him at all today,” George replied, dropping the bag by the piece of furniture he had just emerged from. As the demon got a whiff from the bag, he noticed the metallic tang that followed with it. ‘<em>Probably fresh meat’</em>. Turning to face Dream who had just been stretching, their eyes met- or at least as much as it could, considering one was wearing a mask and the other a pair of goggles. There was a small pause before Dream glanced to the side, closing the door behind him.</p><p>It’d been roughly a month since the first time Dream got the weird, tingly feeling in his chest when his friends had been playing a trick on him. After that evening, the hunter struggled to look his friends in the eye, and even though the odd behavior gradually vanished, the lingering feeling came back when he saw them. Both were being their normal, stupid selves, but they’d gotten progressively flirty throughout, probably finding it a fun and innovate way to tease the hunter. The blonde had brushed it off multiple times as their natural instincts to be cretins, though, but Dream found his heart skipping all the beats when he got a friendly pat on the back or a small hug from any of the demons, and it frustrated him to no end as he had tried to figure out what the hell was happening. Now he knew, and he just had to look at George for his suspicions to be confirmed.</p><p>When the other had turned to look at him, Dream saw everything, how his brown hair bounced and his horns shimmered, the way his lips was permanently curled into a small smile and the glowing eyes that lied beneath the goggles sparked with life- the blond couldn’t help but admit how handsome the other was.</p><p>The hunter clenched his fists. Dream fancied both demons, his <em>friends</em>, and he wanted to repress the thought until it was sure to never come back.</p><p>Both of them jumped out of their skin when all of a sudden, a loud crash came from the roof, followed by a loud groan. “Speaking of Sapnap, I think that might be him,” George said, making a bewildered Dream snap to the roof after his train of thought was abruptly interrupted. The blonde moved to open the window, confused, and took a peek outside.</p><p>Holding on to the edge of the roof, a certain raven-haired man was dangling from the sky with a hand on the rooftiles. There was the slightest sheen of sweat on his tanned skin as he tried pulling himself on, horns bumping into the side of the house as he hung his head out of exhaustion. George, who had just joined Dream by the windowsill, and who was just as questioning as the other, yelled at Sapnap. “What are you doing up there?” This caused Sapnap to snap towards them, almost losing his grip in the process. “Exercising, why?” he called down, earning a facepalm from Dream. Although the urge to just drop down and see how the other two would react, Sapnap very much liked his legs and would rather not break them. He finally managed to pull himself up on the roof, sitting on the slanted surface while flinging his legs over the edge, humming.</p><p>“How did you even slide down in the first place? Did you try doing a cartwheel on the roof or what?” George asked half-amused, half- done with his fellow demon. “No, why would I do that? I tried doing a backflip,” was the response, and there was an immediate groan from the other. Dream, who was nearly awestruck at the lack of braincells in this man, began questioning himself upon why he was even getting caught off guard at this point. Right now, George was almost scolding Sapnap, but the blonde knew very well that the brunette could be a moron as well given the chance. From the looks of it, though, George had at least maintained some common sense opposite of their shared buddy. “You are so stupid, Sapnap,” Dream sighed as he climbed out of the window and jumped down, “I’m surprised you’re still breathing at this point.”</p><p>“Oi, that’s not nice. I did fuck up just now but watch me do some cool shit!” Sapnap shouted, and before any of them could react, the tanned boy was sliding down before being completely suspended mid-air. For a second, it seemed like he was floating, and Dream could see the way his eyes shone in the sunlight to make his heart unjustly start beating louder and louder. A tan hand reached out to the edge of the roof again, Sapnap using the surroundings to swing down to the side of the cabin, and in the blink of an eye he whizzed to a tree nearby after launching himself off the wooden surface. Dream and George watched as he spun around a branch before softly landing on his feet, barely making a sound. Bouncing up on his feet, he gave them a smile- a stupendous smile in Dream’s eyes, as they only served to enhance the beautiful face of Sap-fucking-nap as well as the swelling fondness in the hunter’s chest.</p><p>“Awesome, right?” the smug demon said as he approached the other two, Dream nodding absentmindedly. George raised a brow, still staying inside the cabin as he watched Sapnap wiping the sweat off his forehead. “Yes, it was,” the brunette said in surrender, “but I’m still beating you to death inside.”</p><p>“Hey, I need him alive for another week,” Dream said, getting the demons’ attention. Sapnap snickered. “Only for another week? I thought I was your world, bro-“ “Shut up, listen-“ the hunter cut him off, “I just came home with some provisions for us. The mayor wants me to go check out an abandoned campsite nearby. Some random people found it, said it held ‘demonic powers’ or some shit, and it’s why…” Dream let out a sigh. “It’s why he wants me to bring you guys with me. Or he just wants you guys gone for a while.”</p><p>“WE CAN JOIN YOU ON THE JOB?!” George yelled so excitedly that Dream had to laugh, covering his ears. The brunette was practically glowing, and it was almost endearing. “You sound like a little kid. Yes you can, Gogy,” Dream mused, shaking his head as George made a funny little dance and Sapnap pumped his fist. “Long as neither of you try breaking your limbs again.” Although the blonde could think of all the ways this could go wrong, it was definitely worth it seeing his companions fire up because of it. Dream crossed his arms, it wasn’t even that big of an announcement, but he supposed that it was time for them to go on a little trip after all this time spent being protected in the village. If they were happy, he was happy.</p><p>As long as they didn’t burn down the forest, which Dream knew would happen at <em>least</em> two times.</p><p> </p><p>The next day, right after night had turned to day, Dream had already woken up to start making breakfast. They had plenty of time, but the blonde had simply felt like moving after his eyes had opened and opted to make stew for all of them. The thought was to make something to snack on the way as well, mainly for himself as he knew he would be constantly nibbling on something during the short trip. He was chopping carrots with a rusty knife when he had glanced out of the window, the sky just then starting to brighten from the darkness. Rolling his shoulders, Dream was about to put the knife away when something suddenly wrapped around his waist. Dream immediately froze up, standing as still as a statue whilst something nuzzled his nape. Looking down, he could see a pair of arms securely around him, and judging by the height he could feel the soft breathing at… “Sap?”</p><p>There was a small “mhm” from the person, and Dream’s shoulders dropped before they quickly rose again as he realized how awkward they had to be looking then. Clearing his throat, he put away the knife and glanced down at the demon. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“’M tired,” was the response, and Dream chuckled quietly. “Then go to bed, idiot.” Sapnap’s horns grazed him as the raven shook his head, seemingly not willing to let go of the other. ‘<em>I’m sensing some déjà vu here,’</em> Dream thought to himself, reminded of the day the demons had held him captive in an attempt to bully him. It seemed like the exact same situation, just a lot more intimate, and Dream flushed. He felt a lot more exposed considering he currently not wearing his mask, only being saved by the fact that it was still quite dark outside and all the torches in the house were snuffed out. However, knowing that it wouldn’t last long, Dream knew he should shake off Sapnap as quick as possible.</p><p>But it was kind of nice having Sapnap on his back. Dream found himself enjoying the moment, maybe a little bit too much, the shared warmth giving him a sense of comfort and closure. Closing his eyes, Dream sighed and let Sapnap stay as he moved to work on their breakfast again.</p><p>Leaning on the other’s back, Sapnap caught a glimpse of Dream’s silhouette. The corners of his lips rose ever so slightly, a knowing look on his face. The way he was pressed against the other enabled him to hear the hunter’s heartbeat, and if it didn’t race a hundred miles an hour. <em>‘He’s adorable like this</em>,’ Sapnap thought, disguising his quiet hum as a tired groan.</p><p>They were just standing there in silence for quite some time, Dream constantly trying to focus on the task at hand without getting distracted due to having his friend using him as a big pillow. He was berating himself on the inside, constantly chastising himself for acting like a young girl in love, and when he finally started to dump everything into the pot, Dream was sure that Sapnap has genuinely fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around him. At least he wasn’t able to see Dream anymore, even though the sky had gotten a lot brighter by then.</p><p>A small ‘kling’ emitted from the pot as Dream placed the lid on top, scratching his collarbone. The last thing to do was to just scoop up the leftover veggies and pack them for the trip, and then all that would be left would be to wait. Grabbing a small piece of cloth, Dream wrapped up the last of the food, placed it next to the bubbling pot and started thinking about what he was supposed to do with the demon behind him. Dream’s back hurt, and he wasn’t all to keen on staying in that position until the other woke up.</p><p>Taking matters literally into his own hands, he loosened Sapnap’s grip on him and spun around to pick up the other man. Getting a glimpse of his drooling face, Dream couldn’t help but snort a bit as he carried the other back to the demons’ bedroom, dropping him off next to a snoring George and tucking them both in. Knowing them, they would both wake up as soon as breakfast was ready, so the hunter walked back out to the living room as he waited for the stew to finish. Meanwhile, he took out his trusted hunting-knife and started sharpening it, having made a mental note a while back to make sure it was in a constant, perfect state. Looking back on that one time he’d walked around in a forest with a blunt knife and struggled to properly skin his game, Dream knew he would hate to experience that again.</p><p>The hunter sat there for a while, polishing his blade until the stew was done and, as if on cue, George and Sapnap emerged from their bedroom after a long slumber, both of them blinking tiredly at Dream as they said their good mornings. They slipped into the wooden chairs by the table, digging in the moment the stew was put out in front of them. Of course, Dream had already snuck himself a bowl, but he sat down to have another one with his friends; a proper breakfast. After some initial stillness, the table got chattier as all of them woke up and the sunlight seeped in to cast a warm glow inside the wooden room.</p><p>“What’s the plan for today?” George asked as he stood up, pushing the chair with the back of his legs as he went to fill his bowl. Sapnap stretched his arms as Dream responded, all eyes on the green man. “I’ve already got our lunch ready, so all we need is to head on over to the campsite. Not that long of a trip, so I think we should go by foot.”</p><p>“I would’ve complained, but I’ve actually missed just wandering around in a forest. Might be a good way to get this itch I have to move around as well,” the brunette said, peeking at his fellow demon, “right, Sap?”</p><p>“Meh, I want a horse,” Sapnap said, yawning as George rolled his eyes. “You’re just being lazy,” the latter responded, earning a scoff from the former and a snicker from Dream. “If you want to go get a horse, I’m not waiting for you,” Dream shot in, earning an agreeing nod form George. Admitting defeat, Sapnap raised his arms in the air.</p><p>“By the way, can you guys just detect demon magic when you’re out walking?” the hunter asked out of the blue, eyes looking from demon to demon. George piped up, “well, in what context? Do you mean just randomly, or…?”</p><p>“Yeah, like that,” Dream confirmed.</p><p>George scooped the last of his stew into his mouth before answering. “Yes? I guess? We have to be near it, and then we get this sort of tingly feeling,” he answered, “but it isn’t that easy to notice since me and Sap has been exposed to it so much.”</p><p>“There’s demonic powers wherever there is breathable air, some places just have more of it,” Sapnap clarified after he had stood up from the table and placed his bowl into George’s on the counter. “It can do some weird shit sometimes, like make someone go ballistic if there’s too much of it.” Dream raised a brow, following suit like his friends and putting his bowl away last. His curiosity had been peaked, and he watched as Sapnap thought about what to say next having noticed the hunter’s interest in the topic.</p><p>“I’m not that prone to it, but I’ve heard that it’s almost magnetic to some demons, or even just hellish creatures, like meat to a flock of wild predators. Places that soak up a bunch of magic has probably been used to perform rituals or something like that,” Sapnap said before George cut him off. “Wait, I know something like that! There was this one guy that practiced a bunch of pretty nasty magic, and he ended up casting a whole town into misery, sparing nobody. Heard he reached his goal but got turned into a pig or something, I dunno.”</p><p>Sapnap snapped his fingers, looking at George. “Aren’t you talking about the guy that started the potato wars and ended up becoming some kind of god?” the raven asked, “didn’t he go up against Cthulu or something?”</p><p>“That’s gotta be a myth, the potato wars happened thousands of years ago and there’s <em>no way</em> Cthulu is real,” Dream argued, earning a shrug from the both of them.</p><p>“The odds are low, but never zero,” Sapnap said, making the older boys groan at the joke. “What?”</p><p>“I’ve already packed most of what we need for the mission, but bring along other things if you want to,” Dream said, heading for the door as he tied his mask to his head. Pushing himself off the table, George tipped his head. “Where are you going?”</p><p>Still heading towards the door, Dream spun on his heels to face the others as he started walking backwards. “Gonna ask the mayor about new info, might be useful. See you guys in five!” the blonde called, pushing his mask properly on as he vanished out the door.</p><p>“Alright, chop chop chop, looks like he isn’t willing to give us a lot of time to get dressed,” George hummed, walking into their bedroom with Sapnap tagging along behind him. The brunette scouted the room for his goggles, not finding them on the bedside table where he usually laid it. Crouching down beside the piece of furniture, he found it lying under the bed and, with a sigh, dusted it off using his dully turquoise tunic. Hearing rustling behind him, George glanced back at Sapnap rustling through the pile of clothing on the floor. It looked like the younger was looking for a specific article of clothing, probably making it none of George’s concern. What was, however…</p><p>“Did you do this?” George asked, earning a confused look from the raven before he pointed from his glasses to the floor. Rolling his eyes, the younger dove back into the soft pile before him. “Nah, I wasn’t even sleeping on that side of the bed,” he answered, making George raise a brow.</p><p>“Then why were you lying next to it when we woke up?”</p><p>“Dream dropped me off there, I guess.”</p><p>“What, did you get caught grabbing a midnight snack or something?” the brunette snickered, earning a sigh from the other as he ran a hand through his hair. “All these questions,” Sapnap chuckled, standing up as he had just given up on searching for whatever he had been looking for. “He was being loud as hell with the pot early in the morning, so I decided to shut him up. Ended up sleeping as I was cradling him.”</p><p>“Don’t you sound complacent,” George snickered.</p><p>“Hell yeah I am! His heart was going wild,” the other chuckled with him, making the brunette pause as he looked thoughtful for a second. His goggles were already back on his face, but Sapnap could see that something was going on in the head of his little friend. Plopping down on the mattress, he saw how George came back to reality and joined him on the couch.</p><p>“So he <em>does</em> like-like us, huh?” the other mumbled in such a way that it made Sapnap groan. “Duh, he definitely caught something for us way back. And besides, isn’t it a good thing? We might be able to finally ask him out,” the raven said, George nodding as he gave the younger a look of reluctant triumph. “I’m not sure he’d be ready for it, though. Like yeah, he’s adorable when he’s flustered, but I’m pretty sure he of all people <em>hates</em> being vulnerable,” he muttered, not really trying to argue with his fellow demon, just trying to sort his mind out. Both him and Sapnap had been interested in Dream for some time, George a bit longer than his friend, but they had both caught the disease that was the blonde man with the cutest freckles and the funniest wheeze. Despite his cockiness, Dream could still be on head-level with the people around him, and his whole attitude the last month towards them had been driving the demons up a wall.</p><p>A steady hand landed on his shoulder, and George realized he had been spacing out. Turning to Sapnap, he received one of those rare, reassuring smiles from the usually snarky boy that nobody else had seen, and it made the brunette’s heart wring in his chest. Their foreheads touched, and George felt his breath coming to a brief halt in his throat. “I know you don’t like all that much affection, and that I have stinky morning breath right now, but can we...?” the sentence was barely a whisper, Sapnap uttering the words quieter than a single raindrop landing in a puddle. Orange eyes were boring themselves into golden ones lying beneath a thin sheet of tinted glass.</p><p>With a small sigh, George backed off and took of his glasses, a wistful look flashing across Sapnap’s face for a split second before a weight suddenly settled on his lips and he was staring into swirling, yellow orbs. A blooming feeling reminding them of the warmth of spring spread in their chests as the two boys fell on the soft bed, holding one another tight as they wallowed in the most innocent love a demon could possibly achieve.</p><p>“Even if our emerald boy doesn’t want to date us, we’ll always have each other, ok?”</p><p> </p><p>Yawning, Dream put his hands behind his head, stretching as the group of three made their way towards the site they would be working on for the rest of the day. They had just been walking for forty minutes, but Dream was experiencing the consequences of waking up too early as his feet dragged across the dirt and gravel beneath him, creating short lines that would probably remain until they eventually went back. His mouth created an elongated circle before he suddenly shut his mouth, grimacing as he had accidentally split his lips. Not a fun time to be dehydrated. The hunter took a swing of his flask before swiftly moving on from the stinging feeling.</p><p>Glancing behind him, Dream watched as Sapnap and George were the complete opposite, bouncing around and whizzing between the trees and bushes around them. They were staying on the same track as him, but there had already been times where Dream had thought he’d lost them only to get surprise- attacked, always rewarding his friends with a yelp.</p><p>Dream let out a little chuckle. He couldn’t lie, it <em>was</em> pretty funny. Rolling his shoulders, he raised a hand to his mouth, shouting at the demons. Just then, they were chasing one another through the vast ocean of oak trees that surrounded the two. “Hey, are any of you feeling anything?”</p><p>Slowing down, Sapnap yelled back. “Nope!” And then he was back to running after George. Tapping his mask, Dream shook his head and let out a small snicker. ‘<em>Children’</em>.</p><p>The group was hoping to just walk in the direction they were pointed to and stop when the demons came across anything that could lead them to the campsite. So far there had not been even a sliver of magic that was out of place, but it hadn’t been a problem at all. After all, Dream was prepared to take a completely new route if the current one turned out to not yield anything of interest, and he was certainly sure that there was a fair chance they had been walking in the wrong direction all this time. When at the mayor’s office Dream had just been pointed in one direction and told a couple of details, but not nearly enough to accurately pinpoint their destination. All he knew was that the people that had found the site in the first place had walked a little less than an hour to get from there to the village. However, Dream had been told that they were dragging a pretty heavy cart with them, telling the blonde more than enough. If the time he and the others walked exceeded one hour, they would have to walk back to the village and start anew.</p><p>As Dream was in his own little world, George and Sapnap were speeding through the forest, weaving and bobbing between branches and bushes that threatened to trip them during their fun, the former of the two turning to glance at raven hair hurriedly chasing after him with an outstretched arm. The brunette barely managed to duck before the other would’ve nastily grabbed at his hair, laughing in a mocking fashion as Sapnap almost tripped behind him after failing to catch his fellow demon. After he heard a childish “oh, come on!”  behind him, George kept laughing and launched himself onto a nearby tree, a mean smile making its way on his face as Sapnap scowled at him from below, arms crossed and refusing to move just to keep the other from relishing in his misery even more. “I definitely had you! How did you get away?!”</p><p>“These skillz~” George said in response, dragging out the ‘z’ and popping his neck out like a turtle at the same time to create what Sapnap considered a very unattractive George moment. Muttering a string of insults under his breath, the raven threw his head back to turn his scowl at an innocent bush behind him.</p><p>“You’re such a sore loser,” George hummed, dropping down from the tree and immediately getting tackled by Sapnap, the older snorting at the petty response. “No, you’re just stupid,” Sapnap muttered, satisfied with the sight of his buddy surrendering on the ground as he pushed himself off the shorter man, tail flicking in a placid manner. “Where’d Dream go?”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure he’s wondering where we went,” George said, Sapnap hearing the leaves rustle as the other pulled himself upright, “let’s head back.” Orange eyes lit up, and George could practically feel the mischief radiating from Sapnap as he turned to look at the brunette. “Gogy, do you wanna chase Dream?” was the question, and the immediate thought of running after the hunter got his energy up again, both of their demonic instincts roaring at them to get back at Dream for the grounding a while back. “Oh yeah, we haven’t gotten back at him for being stupid,” he answered Sapnap, dusting himself off and moving towards said male, both of them wearing matching grins before taking off to where they last saw their blonde target.</p><p>Completely unaware of the plans that had just been conspired against him, Dream nonchalantly kicked a rock out of the way, adjusting his mask and pulling the hood that had been gradually sliding away back over his head. It had been a while since he saw the last of his friends, and he figured that they were probably on their way back to him. After all, they were demons, but the blonde was confident that they wouldn’t completely ditch him to be alone in the woods on a mission that would surely be even more inefficient without magic trackers.</p><p>At the thought of George and Sapnap caring for him, Dream got a sudden, fuzzy feeling in his chest. He closed his eyes and let his feet keep moving along the way, daydreaming about things that seemed very, very unlikely, wishing for nothing more than things that were less platonic. His hand flew up to his mask, covering the place where his mouth should be as the hunter flushed under his mask as he thought about cuddling up with the demons, sharing a bed as soft banter was shared and terrible jokes were made. The mental image of the brunette laughing and the raven smiling made him fumble with his free hand, completely in his own little world.</p><p>Due to this, he reacted a bit to slow when a pair of hands reached for him.</p><p>The moment Sapnap had grabbed his shoulders, he was forced to the ground with a yelp as the younger gave him a too innocent smile and another pair of horns, a bit more rounded, entered his line of sight and he was suddenly peered down upon by two highly intimidating demons. It took Dream a split second to register that he wasn’t in actual danger, and he let his arms fall to the side, but it wasn’t exactly fun to have sharp gravel pressing into his back as Sapnap put his full weight on him. The blonde was more confused than angry at the sudden assault of his character, staring at the duo above him through his mask. “Uh.”</p><p>“Play some tag with us, Dream!” The raven exclaimed on him, George snickering before following up on the demand. “We’re bored,” he hummed, snorting when Dream didn’t respond and just looked at him, dumbfounded. “<em>Please</em>?” the brunette continued, stretching the word into a near- whine and taking in the sight of the usually taller man now smaller than the two of them. Fingers flexed by Dream’s sides as he tried to slowly pull his head out of the strange headspace he was in, glancing to the side under his mask while he was seemingly unbothered by his demonic friends. The blonde refused to seem weak now, even less <em>embarrassed</em>.</p><p>Finally finding his tongue, Dream didn’t hesitate to knock Sapnap off- the latter letting it happen- and standing up to shake the gravel off and growl towards their terrible choice of action to ask him for participation in a game. “What is <em>wrong</em> with you? That hurt!” he hissed in displeasure, even more so when they started laughing at their friend without a single ounce of regret. “Boo hoo, so sad~” Sapnap cooed, Dream’s frown deepening. “Listen, Dream, you have a fifteen second headstart before we come after you, okay? You just gotta survive for like ten minutes. This whole trip has been so <em>boring</em>, and we’re just trying to spice it up a bit more here,” the demon said, managing to get a sigh out of the man currently standing there with crossed arms, clearly not approving of the situation. “I never agreed to this!” Dream argued before abruptly stopping as a finger was pushed against his mask, George giving him an undecipherable look. “We’re gonna chase you in the direction of our objective, okay?”, the brunette said, the hunter getting a sense of dread at the way of wording as if he was a sheep to be herded by a pack of dogs, “so don’t whine about it!”</p><p>Dream pursed his lips as two sets of glowing eyes were looking at him expectantly, contemplating whether this would be something he’d come to regret or not. They were not going to hold anything back considering this was probably revenge for keeping them in the house that one time, meaning that he’d probably be doomed, but the thought of winning seemed that much sweeter as well. Dream mulled over the thought, eventually coming to a conclusion as George stepped back to stand next to the other demon. The hunter’s shoulders rose as he prepared himself to run, glancing around to find the quickest escape route as he’d already made his choice. “..fine, I’ll join. It might speed up the time, I guess.”</p><p>Sapnap cheered, giving Dream a confident look as he held his hand up. “Yes! Fifteen seconds starting-” the raven smirked as he closed his hand as a gesture of department, “-now.”</p><p>Immediately taking off, Dream refused to look behind him as he completely strayed away from the road, pulling his knife out to cut branches and leaves out of the way, also serving the purpose of slowing Sapnap and George down as well. The moment he ducked under a particularly sturdy branch, his internal clock had counted down fifteen seconds, spiking the blonde’s adrenaline and causing him to quicken his pace, hacking down a heavy splinter of wood and stepping on it as he climbed the tree. Usually, Dream would keep running down where there was sturdy ground, but he knew that his hunters knew that as well, so it was less an act to give him the advantage and more of an attempt at confusing them more. ‘<em>Here they come.</em>’</p><p>The hunter caught a flash of brown and white, George more visible in that split second than Sapnap as he blended in a lot more with the dim environment from above. Leaves fluttered where feet had previously been, and Dream almost gaped at the speed. They were <em>really</em> not holding back this time, moving in a manner that was a lot more inhuman than in their usual games. He had a stroke of luck when he decided that climbing would be better than running, it would seem.</p><p>The blonde licked his lips as he climbed higher, stretching his neck when almost at the top to identify the road and keep himself close to it when he eventually started moving again. Staying still would be a dick move, and Dream was not about to ruin the fun when he had already agreed to be a part of the improv manhunt. His feet moved a down a branch or two before he located a nearby arm of a sister tree, braced himself and finally jumped, almost missing due to the leaves in his mouth just as he managed to get a hold of the uneven wood. Taking a sharp inhale, Dream pulled himself up by the strength of his arms, hood revealing blonde hair for a split second before he was completely up and able to scout the area for his next leap, hopefully shorter this time.</p><p>Slowly getting the hang of it, the current runaway jumped from tree to tree with somewhat increasing speed, not possessing the same agility that demons were naturally born with. There was no way Dream would’ve managed to launch himself off the rooftop like Sapnap had done the day before. Physically, humans have nothing on their demonic counterparts.</p><p>They make it up with tactical acumen, instead.</p><p>From previous hunts and gained knowledge, his friends had been way too confident in their own blood, believing that they could take him down in under ten minutes. As far as Dream knew, he was already one fifth of the way to winning, Sapnap and George nowhere in sight. The blonde let a smile form before quickly turning back to concentrating on not getting caught. Dream was still making sure to move in the direction of the mission site, but he was starting to slow down as the odds of running into his hunters was rising by the second. Lo and behold, Dream barely managed to stop every movement he was just about to make as he saw, once again, two flashes of familiar palettes although they had slowed down significantly. He didn’t really need to mull over <em>why</em> too much; they were likely fatigued after keeping a quick, constant pace for many a minute.</p><p>God did his heart stop when they suddenly returned two seconds later after he had just readied himself to jump again, Dream’s breathing completely halting when the demons stopped right below him just slightly off to the side.</p><p>“What, you still don’t see him?” Dream could hear Sapnap say, mocking George. The raven didn’t sound frustrated, but from the way his tail swung back and forth, he was growing impatient. George clicked his tongue, tasting the air as he crossed his arms as a sign of semi- seriousness. “I’m wearing darkened glasses <em>and</em> I’m colorblind, Sap,” the older shot back, sticking his tongue out and grimacing for a second, “it was your idea for us to just run around like idiots.”</p><p>The branch under Dream slightly obscured his view where he sat at an awkward angle to look over his shoulder, but it didn’t stop him from bearing witness to the bickering commencing beneath him. The blonde shook his head and snickered soundlessly behind the mask, the cool forest air getting filled with insults haphazardly thrown at one demon from the other and completely ruining the both idyllic and intense mood. “Let’s just start searching the place, we’re wasting time.” And just like that, they were gone, and Dream only heard their footsteps distancing themselves from him.</p><p>Breathing out, he figured that he had about half the time left. Dream was sure they had started rummaging through the area more thoroughly now, so his resolve was to remain even quieter than before as he kept in mind the fact that George and Sapnap could possibly move on to climbing up trees as well.</p><p>A minute or so passed as Dream lunged himself from tree to tree, still on guard as he began to take in the scenery more after being so caught up in the whole game of tag. They had entered a more deserted part of the forest, Dream now surrounded by untouched leaves fluttering in the wind as the sound of a mourning dove, akin to an owl but not quite as deep rung through his ear, partially muffled by his woolly hood. In a way, Dream felt like he should be chastising himself for not appreciating mother Nature more, for it was her that had granted him so many of her animals during his hunts in the wild without invoking her wrath on him. The soul of a hunter was at its peak when it respected the source of its passion, he knew. Letting a soft sigh slip past his lips, the blonde continued on his way and left the quiet to dwell on the pietistic thoughts he left behind.</p><p>However, as it turned out, mother Nature was at his side, but he had probably crossed lady Luck at one point as Dream could suddenly hear laughter beneath his feet.</p><p>As an immediate reflex, Dream abruptly stationed himself, ending in a consequential loss of balance as  a tremendous pushing force hit him in the back and limbs wrapped around him, nearly throwing both him and the perpetrator of his personal space off the branch, an audible “oomf” sounding from behind. A protesting noise emerged from the back of his throat as laughter erupted triumphantly from all sides. “Caught you!”</p><p>Dream managed to snort as George clung onto him like an infant monkey, hardly able to hold them both up on a barely- stable- to- begin- with piece of wood as Sapnap nearly wet his pants from laughing that hard at the sight under their feet. A flustered yelp followed as a tail wrapped around his leg, creating a bigger shift in balance. “George, get <em>off</em> me! We’re <em>going</em> to fall down!”</p><p>“We won!” the brunette cheered, completely ignoring Dream as Sapnap joined the celebration. Even through the very looming threat of taking fall damage, George managed to mildly annoy Dream who was trying to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Feigning a defeated sigh, he let the others have their temporary fun as the blonde hunter slowly puzzled together a plan to escape with both his ego and his bones still intact.</p><p>Sapnap hummed. “Come down already!” He shouted, shaking his head in an attempt to remove the hair from his eyes. Glancing up at his friends, orange eyes watched as George’s face contorted into something like a derisive grimace, most likely rubbing their victory into Dream’s face in silence. In turn, it seemed like the hooded man was stewing in hidden contempt where he was standing still as a rock, unmoving. With a grin plastered on his face, Sapnap took a step back, head moving downwards as he chuckled to himself.</p><p>“Actually.”</p><p>The moment the dark-haired man looked up, he was met with the growing silhouette of a body tumbling down directly towards him. He didn’t even have time to react to the scream as he was battered to the ground, the air getting knocked out of his chest whilst his head hit the unyielding ground, laughter ringing out the moment the dark spots blocking his vision cleared.</p><p>“You never said ‘<em>tag’</em>.”</p><p>George was stunned where he was situated on top of Sapnap, every word he tried to say dying in his larynx when he had suddenly been unwillingly sent crashing down towards the dirt. Only a flabbergasted sound managed to erupt from the sore wasteland that was his throat, and as orange eyes met golden ones, the brunette knew that Sapnap struggled with the same thing. Both could only turn towards the sound of the ongoing laughter, proud and ecstatic.</p><p>The sunlight that slipped past olive green leaves created a near enchanting glow around the towering portrait of a lime-colored form, a crude yet triumphant smile painted onto marble white wood visible for them both to see. Dream was no doubt smiling alongside his mask, a line of pale skin visible just above his turtleneck as he created a long shadow falling on the demons looking upon him. His hood had slid down to reveal slightly lengthy, golden locks, rowdy and uneven yet poised in a way that gave him the look of a man one would never spend a single, boring second with. Eyes followed his arms as they moved from a dwelling position in his pockets to an outstretched one, feet on the same spot of the grey branch as the light laughter stopped, wind suddenly rushing to grab at his hood, his pants and the treetops above the tall man. From above, a bird’s song sounded before the wind gradually stopped, carrying with it a black feather that fell right in front of their two sets of feet in silence.</p><p>Both Sapnap and George were swimming, <em>drowning </em>in a million feelings at once, a mixture of anger at his betrayal, their loss, their wish to laugh at the ridiculous turn of events and their awe at their friend. They didn’t even know what to feel and even less what to <em>think</em>, but one thing was clear:</p><p> </p><p>“You lost.”</p><p> </p><p>Dream could be so, so ethereal.              </p><p> </p><p>The blonde let out a snort at the silence, a feeling of delight washing over his body where waves of adrenaline had just crashed through. When George had still been on his back, he’d forced himself to keep balancing until he knew both had let down their guards at their apparent victory, and then he’d mustered all of his strength to throw the luckily lighter and shorter man over his shoulder. Originally, his plan wasn’t to send him flying into Sapnap at all, but it only added insult to injury for them and made his successful getaway all the better. Dream, in his head, knew that he still had a minute or so left, but the way the demons looked at him in shock told him that they probably, realistically wouldn’t be able to catch up to him even if they did realize. “What, did you see a ghost or something?” the taller man snickered, arms dropping to the side as he fell into a more relaxed position. Coming back to his senses, George snarled up at Dream. “That hurt! You’re cheating, I got you!” the brunette exclaimed, pushing his hand into Sapnap out of frustration and getting a hiss out of the other.</p><p>“George, the rules of tag are that you have to tap a person and say ‘tag’. You didn’t!” Dream shot back, highly amused at the obvious upper hand he had in the situation seeing as George fumbled with his comeback whilst Sapnap tried to push the older male off. “That’s so stupid...!” the demon finally said, almost too quiet for the human to hear before the latter let out a laugh once again.</p><p>“You didn’t even get us time to react…” Sapnap mumbled, George finally getting off him and relieving him off his painful position, “I even forgot that this was tag and not a manhunt.”</p><p>“Well, that’s on you guys! Did you really push the W that hard this game?” Dream hummed, freckles wrinkling as he only received a roll of the eyes and silence from his friends, not quite happy with admitting defeat. Shrugging his shoulders, the blonde turned away from them to move back to the main road, smirking to himself. “Wait, Dream, can we get a rematch?”</p><p>The hunter stopped in his tracks. ‘<em>Huh?</em>’ Not fully turning to look at his friends, Dream spared them a glance, both of them now standing. Through his glasses, George was sending Sapnap a questioning look matching Dream’s at the younger’s attempt at <em>still</em> trying to barter his way to a victory. “What’d you say?” Dream asked, head tipping to the side in a confused manner.</p><p>“If you reach back to the road first, you win, but if we catch you before that, we win?” Sapnap begged, and oh fuck, Dream <em>hated</em> it when the raven used fucking <em>puppy eyes</em> to convince him. It sent a fire into his body, lighting his veins on fire in a way that wasn’t good and made him completely melt on the inside, fingers flexing as he so badly wanted to say no and not make a fool out of himself. “Sapnap, I already won-“ “Pleaaaaase…?~” Sapnap whined, his voice steadily rising and causing Dream’s ears to feel like they were being rubbed against sandpaper. ‘<em>Don’t do it, don’t do it!</em>’ But alas.</p><p>“God fuck- ok! You still had time left in tag, but you know what, whatever!” God, Dream wanted to smack himself into space. George began laughing, probably out of disbelief, his whole body crumbling like a dry cookie as Sapnap tried to utter a cute “thank you” that would give the taller man nightmares later.</p><p>Without warning, Dream turned around and threw himself off the tree, seemingly jumping down from where he previously stood and causing both George and Sapnap to scramble away from where they too had been resting. Their legs carried them at practically mach-1 speed towards where Dream would’ve landed, hands ready to grapple a lean body and mouths ready to scream <em>TAG</em>. But unfortunately, the runner was nowhere to be found, George’s eyes meeting Sapnap’s in a moment of confusion before a snicker gave away the position of their target, heads snapping to look up to just barely catch a glimpse of an armored arm.</p><p>Moving as fast as he could, Dream nimbly skipped from branch to branch, not daring to question how his weight hadn’t at all caused the snapping of a branch already. His heart dropped as he could hear a sudden, crisp sound not too far behind him, looking over only to see George climbing his way up with sharp claws, his focused expression striking a second of sudden panic in Dream’s chest. Forcing his head back to face forwards, spasmic strands of hair blocking the blonde’s vision minutely at the sharp movement, Dream barely missed a gap between the trees as he launched himself off yet another piece of oak.</p><p>The moment the hunted hunter could practically feel breathing down his neck, he dropped down under the pretense of jumping, a yelp and the sound of twigs snapping over him audible. Dream’s boots slapped against the ground as his feet ran as fast as they could, breath hitching as the beige color of the road approached him, closer and closer. Only a few feet away, and he wanted to laugh. Even if he gave his friends a second chance, he’d still win.</p><p>And then, something caught onto his ankle, and fell down. Eyes widened as he hit the ground, arms barely preventing a bad headache as he was quickly weighed down, keeping him down even whilst he tried to pry the heaviness off him. Dream’s mask had even slid to the side, allowing orange eyes to penetrate into emerald green ones with a near scary glee. “SAP! TAG HIM, TAG HIM!” they could both hear a third voice shout in the distance, a palm slamming into Dream’s back seconds after. “TAG, YOU’RE IT!” a rough shout emerged from above, and Dream’s whole body collapsed.</p><p>The warmth from Sapnap’s hand blooming out against his spine didn’t even compare to the warmth rising in Dream’s face as George approached them with twigs and leaves jutting out from everywhere on his body, the whole ordeal finally coming to a conclusion. He hurriedly pushed his mask back into place mere moments before both demons smirked down at him. “Well, well, well, we won anyway,” Sapnap said, so smug that Dream started pushing him away again, still with little to no result, “and now you’re looking like a flattened fish. Loser!” Sucking in a breath, the blonde snarled. “Oh, that was so dumb!” Dream protested, gritting his teeth as he tried to kill his flush. Opposite of his desired wishes, the blonde only reddened more when his hood was yanked to shut him up, George covering his mouth and a snort.</p><p>“Hey now, you should probably not say that when we got you pinned, Dream,” Sapnap said, his current captive picking up on the sudden drop in octave and going completely still, like a reflex. It made the raven roll his eyes and bark out a short chuckle, steadily eyeing Dream harsher and harsher. From the corner of his eye, Sapnap could see the oldest male moving to stand right beside where he was currently crouching with one knee on Dream, George bearing witness to a sight he hadn’t seen since last his fellow demon had caught something of desire, he himself feeling the boiling instinct to devour something after wasting so much energy. “Geez, it looks like you guys are going to eat me,” Dream chuckled, evidently still frantic and searching for the quickest way out of the awkward scenario, “but fine, you guys won.”</p><p>“Oh we won, alright,” George snickered, his voice gaining a more velvet-y edge, “and you’re looking mighty good. Delicious.” The brunette took in every detail as the hunter short- circuited, a strangled chuckle emerging from him.</p><p>“What!? That’s so weird, George, what?!” Dream wheezed, shock and panic triggering the reaction. He tried laughing the whole thing off, mind going ballistic as both implications behind their words were equally worrying for completely different reasons. “I’d, uh, rather not become dinner right now.”</p><p>Dream could see the sudden flick of a tail behind Sapnap’s head, like an impatient smack to the air. “Are you stalling for time?” the raven sneered, his irises glowing brighter and his pupils getting thinner as the taller man’s stomach dropped. The other looked ready to tear his throat out, quite literally and so convincing that Dream squirmed to reach for his knife, just in case. “Sapnap, you’re acting-!”</p><p>A warm breath fanned out across his nape, and Dream’s nervous system rotted away in an instant, leaving only a heavy lump of jelly behind. This was it, he was going to die there. He felt something akin to a hand slipping under his hoodie and the various layers beneath, the shocking cold causing his muscles to buckle and a hiccup to barely emerge. “Wait, <em>wait!</em>”</p><p>The hand under his shirt retreated ever so slightly, but the movement stopped completely. Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Dream twisted his head back to glance at Sapnap, his eyes having returned to its previous state as he sent the hunter a worried look. For a brief moment, Dream could almost see the sliver of doubt sprouting inside the other, the weight on his back lessening as a gesture of guilt. George seemed apprehensive as well, seemingly the owner of the hand. With a gentle voice, he spoke. “Dream-“</p><p>“If… you want to do whatever it is I think you <em>want</em> to do, then-“ Dream mumbled, carefully removing his mask to get more air, completely revealing his reddened face to his friends. Able to turn around more, he completely flipped himself around to look up at the demons with bashful, emerald eyes. As much as Dream refused to show any weakness at any time, the blonde found himself completely softening up in order to assure his friends, wishing to completely erase the uncertainty doubtlessly manifesting to plague both Sapnap and George.</p><p>His voice fell to but a whisper, choosing to look down at the ground as he uttered the last words. “Can we finish our job first?”</p><p>Dream waited for the laughter, mocking voices telling him what the hell he was on about, that he was wrong about everything and that he had misread playful teasing as flirting. Or maybe they had been flirting with him for fun, just platonically as friends and he had <em>completely</em> fallen for simple jokes-</p><p>Tan hands clasped around the blonde’s face in a gentle manner, his heading moving up on its own to meet two faces, both looking at him in what, almost impossibly so, seemed like gentle adoration and genuine care. They wiped the thoughts about rejection away and warmed him up, Dream’s heart steadily beating as he came to rest more against Sapnap’s touch. “We can wait until after, Dream. Sorry for being so sudden with you,” George said, rubbing the back of his neck, and the hunter’s eyes widened, scanning his friends in disbelief.</p><p>“You’re serious about that?” Dream asked, and he could see the second of panic in George as the other quickly fumbled with his hands, his black tail shooting up. “Wait, you weren’t?” the eldest gibbered, now his turn to believe he had completely misread things. It made Dream chuckle, Sapnap shaking his head as George came to a halt. “I am! I am serious about it, I just…” Dream trailed off, a gentle stroke of the thumb against his freckled cheeks spurring him into continuation, “I didn’t know that you guys wanted to as well.”</p><p>“<em>As well</em>? Over the past few months we’ve tried dropping hints to you, Dream, we kind of like you, you know,” Sapnap snickered, his ears attaining a blush as he admitted to many built up feelings and pent-up frustrations, “in fact, I know that I liked you since basically day one.” The newly obtained information made Dream want to smack himself into oblivion for being so stupid and not noticing before. “No way.”</p><p>“Yeah way!” Sapnap shot back, grimacing when Dream made a funny face. The raven’s hands kneaded soft flesh to create even funnier and patronizing looks for the hunter, his own face getting the same treatment when Dream grabbed him the same way. Tsking, George stood up and looked down at the younger men bantering, muttering to himself. “The girls are fighting… guys let’s just hurry up and get through with the job already.”</p><p>“Oh yeah! We came across the place where the demonic magic was, forgot to tell you,” the youngest quipped as he stood, grabbing George’s hand after it was offered to him as support. Dream followed, the brunette’s other hand filling with his own as they began moving towards their long due destination. “We’ve been out here for hours because you guys didn’t figure it out sooner!</p><p>“It’s not our fault you’re like a slippery snail, Dream!” George retorted as he gently removed his glasses, Dream rolling his eyes as closed his eyes, hoping that this wasn’t some amazing dream soon to turn into a nightmare.</p><p>And, unbeknownst to him, the two demons shared a quick glance. Orange eyes turned a predatory yellow as chestnut orbs flashed a mean shade of red, ready to completely devour oblivious green.   </p>
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